FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[amh63]

Boy, this board is quiet if I am the only poster this week.  Anyway, The Amherst vs. Midd. preview is up on the Amherst website.  The game is at Amherst and the weather and field should be fine for the game.  There will be a free webcast of the game for those interested. I will be in Annapolis, Md. but will try to catch the game at a free website.....Starbucks by the water?
The game will be a contrast in styles this year.  Midd. with a powerful passing offense with a good runner.  Amherst with a better running game but to date a weak passing game.  Last year, it was a shoot-out with two SR. passing QBs', and a close high score game.  This year it should be a low scoring game...I hope and may Amherst's defense carry the day again.

[fulbakdad]

Keep an eye on Ibreheme Kadar at Wesleyan.  Read this a year from now and you'll say, "that's where he came from".

Was a DI attention getter at Tabor.

[banfan]

Really fulbakdad?  "I told you so."?

And what is a DI attention getter?

amh63, quiet is almost right, ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ...or maybe RIP.

I must be expecting too much.

[amh63]

This can be considered as an Amherst promo...though it does revel the talent the conference players have.  On the Amherst website, there is a feature story about two senior football players that starred in the Bowdoin game and have Div.1 talent.  However, their best game is baseball.  They both have caught MLB interest and could be drafted in June.
Oh yes, the outstanding Midd. TE, who won player of the week, was a teammate in HS  of Amherst's outstanding twin Sr. Wide receivers..both are 2-sport stars at Amherst.

[banfan]

So, Hamilton is playing a FOOTBALL game in Hartford this Saturday.  Two 2-0 titans matched up.  They are very young.  7 seniors.

Any one from Tufts or Wesleyan want to shed some light on the juggernaut out of Clinton (damn it's cold) NY?

Tufts is struggling with new coach, etc. and maybe is not so good but the Mark IV's were able to shut down the Wes attack.

They pass with a high success rate but not many yards 51-40.  Only 175 per game.  Rushing for 88 yrds per game sort of suggests that they might have negative yrds at Trinity.  Of course in the Wes game they never had the ball.  What the heck was the Wes strategy?  If the other team never has the ball, they can't beat us?  Ya still have to score, hello!

Ham has a good punter it seems.  They don't appear to make too many mistakes.

They do give up a lot of yards on the ground and we have a pretty good ground game.

amh63, not only was that a shameless gush for your school, it was about BASEBALL.  The nescac FOOTBALL season is short enough.  By the way, my other son attends Drexel in Philly and they just added Squash as a varsity sport.  Not very interesting is it?  Go Drexel Dragons!!!!!

[frank uible]

A D1 attention getter might mean that LSU and Wisconsin are interested.

[creekboy]

There's no doubt that Hamiton is a young team, but they have been playing pretty well. And winning is contagious. I don't know how well they will fare against Trinity. From all I have read and heard, they are the class of the NESCAC, and this is Hamilton's first real test to see if they are a REAL contender in 2011.  So I guess we'll see Saturday. I am hoping for a good game, where both teams slug it out. Even if Trinity wins, I want Hamilton to look like a team that is improving. 

I can say that the Hamilton fans and players are excited about the year, and gaining back some credibility as a football program. It's long overdue. The coaches are doing what it takes to bring in and retain good players. From where I'm sittin', it's all upside.

And, for the record Wesleyan had a pretty darn good running attack. Unfortunately they did not pass hardly at all. When they did, it usually worked, but it was like 8 runs, one pass, 7 runs, one pass...not very balanced and it just ate the clock, which worked against them in the end.

Good luck to all teams this week!

[amh63]

Banfan....I did admit to the "gush".  Where do you come up with all these terms?  Are they Philly expression?  Speaking of squash....Trinity has had the best squash teams in the land...in any division for over a decade.  Now that you have two sons at squash schools, does this mean that you are an ex-squash player.  Seems reasonable since the Philly area produces the best college squash players in the USA, outside of the sub continent of Asia.
Frank U.....your insight brought a smile to my face.  With all the talent that Wes. has in assistant coaches, it is not surprising that UConn and Yale was out recruited. 

[banfan]

So Creekboy, what the heck was Wes trying to accomplish?  They had the ball.  They marched up and down the field.  They were not bad at passing they just did not pass?

Seriously, what did Wes look like?  Did they seem poorly coached?

Does Hamilton travel well?  Tailgating?

[creekboy]

Banfan, I don't know honestly, but Wes seemed to not want to put too much on the QB's shoulders. Did a little deep-dive analysis as I re-watched the game yesterday, and Wes' run-to-pass ratio averaged about 12 to 1 - not exactly a balanced attack.  When they did pass (or run the bootleg), Hamilton was usually caught off guard, but how can you NOT look for the run?!  The biggest issue for Wes was their kicking game (missed PAT and blocked FG). Hats off to Hamilton's defense for stiffening in the red zone. Their inside LB MacDonald had 21 tackles on the day, the guy is a monster of the midway - very Urlacher-esc.

Anyway, tomorrow is my first AWAY game Tailgate. The home pre-during-after party is awesome! Great food and drink, great group of parents, all run by some folks who haven't had kids playing for years. Stop by!   

[iamhuge]

So, Hamilton is playing a FOOTBALL game in Hartford this Saturday.  Two 2-0 titans matched up.  They are very young.  7 seniors.

Any one from Tufts or Wesleyan want to shed some light on the juggernaut out of Clinton (damn it's cold) NY?

Tufts is struggling with new coach, etc. and maybe is not so good but the Mark IV's were able to shut down the Wes attack.

They pass with a high success rate but not many yards 51-40.  Only 175 per game.  Rushing for 88 yrds per game sort of suggests that they might have negative yrds at Trinity.  Of course in the Wes game they never had the ball.  What the heck was the Wes strategy?  If the other team never has the ball, they can't beat us?  Ya still have to score, hello!

Ham has a good punter it seems.  They don't appear to make too many mistakes.

They do give up a lot of yards on the ground and we have a pretty good ground game.

amh63, not only was that a shameless gush for your school, it was about BASEBALL.  The nescac FOOTBALL season is short enough.  By the way, my other son attends Drexel in Philly and they just added Squash as a varsity sport.  Not very interesting is it?  Go Drexel Dragons!!!!!

The Jumbos are working really hard.  Should be a great game Saturday against the Polar Bears.

[NESCACInsider]

Drives beginning in the fourth quarter this season for Hamilton

3 plays, -3 yards
2 plays, -2 yards (Kneel-downs that ended the game versus Wesleyan)
3 plays, 3 yards
3 plays, -4 yards
1 play, -3 yards (Kneel-down that ended the game vs. Tufts)

Not trying to make a point one way or the other, just thought it was an interesting stat.

[banfan]

Creekboy we will be there in shorts and sandals considering the 80 degrees.

Actually, we will probably be on the field end of the Trinity tailgaters because we entertainment in the form of our border collie, Buck.  Find a black and white border collie sith a frisbee hanging from his mouth and you have found us.  The Ham and Trin tailgate is cheek to jowl but I have not seen any hostilities break out, at least not before the game.  We will be there by 11:00 am.  My son at Drexel says he is coming with some buddies so it should be quite the crowd.

May the best home team win!!!!

[creekboy]

Thanks banfan! I'm quickly checking in from the Hampton Inn in East Hartford. I love wireless! My wife and I will look for ya'll (I was born in Texas). I'm a big, friendly lug, and promise not to eat too much.

I must agree with NESCAC Insider that Hamilton's offense needs to FINISH the game. No doubt today's game is tough for the Conts, but the only way to improve is to play better opponents.  Take care.   

[quicksilver]

Bowdoin enters the win column, easily downing Tufts in Medford, 27-6. No details just yet as the Jumbos' Internet presence collapsed early in the game.